Sifu Rubia ~ Prana & Qi - Two Paths to One Destination - Native Yoga Toddcast

Episode Transcript
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Todd McLaughlin (00:33):
Welcome to Native yoga Toddcast. So happy
you are here. My goal with thischannel is to bring
inspirational speakers to themic in the field of yoga,
massage bodywork and beyond.
Follow us native yoga, and checkus out at Native yoga
center.com. All right, let'sbegin

(01:05):
Hello, welcome to Native YogaToddcast for you. Thank you.
Today I have a special guestnamed Sifu Rubia. And she is a
Tai Chi Chi Gong instructor. Shealso practices yoga, she's based
out of California. And Irecommend that you check out her

(01:26):
website, it's w w w dot Tai Chiwellness dot online. I have that
in the description below and orwherever you're listening. And
so this way that you if you wantto check out her courses, she
has Tai Chi courses, which areamazing, she gave me an
opportunity to take her Tai ChiFundamentals course of which I

(01:47):
was able to participate in whichI enjoy immensely. Tai Chi is an
incredible art form. And Ireally think it goes well with
yoga. So I'm hoping that youwill also take a look at her
information. She is alsooffering for those of you that
would like to try a free coursewith her. There's a promo code

(02:08):
free chi which is spelt freeqi.
And that's for her short Qigongcourse, which you'll see on her
website. So again, I'll printthat down below. And I think
that's about it. On that note,let's go ahead and get started.
I hope you enjoy thisconversation as much as I did.
I'm so delighted to have sifuRubia here with me today. Rubia.
How are you doing?

Sifu Rubia (02:31):
Hi, good. Good morning, or it's afternoon for
you. I'm well Todd, how are you?

I'm doing really well. I'm so excited to
have a chance to speak with you.
And I feel like I You said youjust finished teaching a class.
Is that true? Yeah, privateclass, private class. And you
are a Tai Chi and Qi Gongpractitioner and teacher.
Correct. Wonderful. Can you helpme understand the difference

(02:58):
between Tai Chi and Chi Gong?

Sifu Rubia (03:04):
Oh, well, Tai Chi is the martial expression of your
Qigong practice, essentially. SoChi Gong is is it she and for
your Yogi listeners is theequivalent to prana and Gong
simply means to work tocultivate to toil. So a chi gong
practice is just that. So you'reworking on your lifeforce, your

(03:28):
vital energy, through specificmovements, there are many
different system, Qigong systemsout there that target target
different things. And so that'sthe cultivation of your of your
prana. And then the Tai Chi isthe martial expression of that

(03:50):
cultivation. And that's a simpleway to to understand the
difference between the two.

When you say martial expression, meaning the
actual physical movements.

Sifu Rubia (04:01):
Yeah, correct. So Tai Chi is also known as the
Grand ultimate for martialartists. And usually a typical
path to your Tai Chi is a kungfu practice. So people evolve
into their their Tai Chi, butevery Tai Chi movement has a

(04:24):
martial expression to it. Idon't typically teach martial
expressions just because thevenue actually requires
oftentimes requires me to, toteach it more as a meditation,
which it also is, so I teach itprimarily as a moving
meditation.

Nice. Can you give me some insight into how
you got started? And what wasyour first introduction to Tai
Chi was?

Sifu Rubia (04:53):
Sure, sure. The first class the first Tai Chi
class I went to I literally wentknocked out? Have

you felt weirded out by that first? Like,
what was it like that? Sorry?
What was it that that made youwant to walk out like you were
frustrated, or you thought itwas weird or

Sifu Rubia (05:17):
all of that it was a combination of a few things. And
I remember the feeling veryvividly. And by then I'd already
had maybe a five year yogapractice. So I was familiar with
mind body movement. But the TaiChi just brought it to another
level of being really, reallypresent and uncomfortable. And I

(05:42):
just, it was uncomfortable. Andyour ego gets in the way. And
you know, like, there are layersto spiritual practice and your
spiritual evolution. And that'swhere I was at that moment in
time. Struggling with with thatpart of myself, so yeah, I
walked out of class. 50 yearslater, here we are, yeah, yes.

(06:06):
My initial experience with Tai

Chi, can I ask you where that was?

Sifu Rubia (06:13):
Where was it? I think it was here in California.
So I'm not from here. I'm fromCanada. And from the East Coast,
and the I was visiting ortraveling here in California.
And the the person I was withwas actually a teacher. And he
brought me to class. And that'show, that's how that started.

(06:36):
And then it took me a couple ofyears after that before taking
another class. Just because likethe experience was just I was
just so weirded out that I nevereven considered going back. And
then the second time, I can'teven say that it's stuck, but it
wasn't as uncomfortable. Andthen the third time is when it

(06:57):
stuck.

Nice. What do you think about the third time
that made it stick? What was itthat caused you to feel that
way?

Sifu Rubia (07:05):
So I don't know. I think I was I was in a different
place. I was, uh, you know, I,you know, was a little more
seasoned, you know, youtranscended my ego a little bit
more, and I was a little moreopen and receptive to the
practice. So I guess that's whatmade the difference. And I see
that in people who show up toclass and you have you always

(07:31):
have to meet as a teacher, youknow, this, you have to meet
people where they are. And it's,it. It has to, it has to come
from within like I the firsttime I was, I was not forced
into a situation. But I it was,it wasn't something I was
willingly going into, I thinkthat's part of the breakdown

(07:52):
that happened. And then. So bythe third time was really it was
a willingness from me. So I haveto answer that question. That's
really the difference.

What do you think intrigued you about it
when you had that switch towhere you were going from being
pulled into class versus let meseek it out? What and you
already had a yoga practice? Soit sounds like you had
cultivated a passion formovement and mind body
awareness? What was it about taichi that caused you to want to

(08:27):
try it again? Was it thatinitial kind of pushback that
you felt from beinguncomfortable in that really
focused space? Or do you thinkthere was something about
watching the movement andwatching people practice that
you that got you intrigued youcan you put your finger on that?

Sifu Rubia (08:43):
I love how you put that it's actually the latter.
So to really observe peopledoing tai chi, just watching
them it's meditative. So I thinkyes, that was definitely the
pull back. Yeah. In that space.
Yeah. Yeah, I love that youbrought that up?

Oh, that's cool. Well, it's funny, because
the first time I saw Tai Chi wason a video. And I remember I was
with a group of people. And Ihad a massage teacher that was
really into tai chi, and he putthe video on and I think,
because the reaction of theother people in the room, they
started to giggle and laugh alittle bit, kind of like, what

(09:23):
is this? Like? What is thisperson doing? Because the person
was moving so slow. And so Ifeel like my first impression
got formed by the reaction ofthe others around me. I was
intrigued. I thought, well, thatlooks really interesting what's
going on, but I remember becauseeveryone else is wanting to make
fun. You know, I didn't let mehave like maybe my own first

(09:45):
initial experience. And then mymy second chance getting to come
across Tai Chi. I was inThailand, studying Thai massage
and my Thai massage teacherwould go and teach Tai Chi.
Really early in the morning andChiang Mai in Thailand. And I
remember going in there I like abig soccer field. And there's
more than 100 people would showup to practice. And I was blown

(10:06):
away by the energy and, and itlooks so easy, but then to try
to actually follow. And Iremember people saying, Wow,
that guy, he's a real Tai Chimaster like he really knows what
he's doing. And so I'd sit backand just kind of watch him and
but I still don't have that eyeyet for being able to detect who

(10:26):
the master at the art is. Canyou? When you watch people
practice? Is there somethingthat you pick up on? When you
watch their practice that givesyou that indication? Obviously,
you study it, and you teach it.
So you have some understandingof these nuances. But can you
clue me in a little bit as towhat you look for? And notice
when in your own practice andanother's? Yeah, I

Sifu Rubia (10:51):
love that. I mean, this is a great conversation.
Yeah, you're you're really tunedin it's a different, this is a
different type of conversationwe're having which I love. So as
your practice evolves, there'sthere's a somatic experience as
a visceral experience that thathappens through any kind of, you

(11:13):
know, physical movement inpractice over time, you, you
have these different shifts thatyou literally feel internally.
So once you start integratingthose happenings, you start
seeing it and other people I orother people's practices, or

(11:36):
not, so you can you can usuallythat's how I see it, I look for
people's I literally look fortheir center and where their
center drops in their practice.
So that's how I can tell ifsomeone's will how far along
their practices I guess,interesting. And then you know
what? I've seen some Taichimasters. I hate that word.

(12:00):
Sorry. I've seen some someadvanced practitioners, where
there they seem technicallysound, but there's a piece
missing. And that that has a lotto do with the mental and then
you start getting into people'spsyches and stuff like that,
which is a whole other ballgame.

(12:22):
But it comes out in thephysical.

Interesting. Do you mean that like you, they,
you know, air quotes, quotesmaster, and then you go talk to
them, and you find out thatthey're not really all that
nice. And that's, and that's thecase, you know, we won't say
anything bad about anybody won'tuse names,

Sifu Rubia (12:44):
but I just started talking about what my teachers
know. I mean, I mean,

is that because I noticed that in the yoga
world, too, like, you'll seesomebody say, like, Wow, look
how advanced they are, oh, mygosh, your practice is so insane
and so amazing. And, and thenyou go to speak with them. And
there's just a big wall there.
And you kind of wonder like, oh,man, the the impression that I
got from the visual and theexternal, I thought that would
be matched up with this reallysweet, compassionate individual.

(13:09):
And sometimes it doesn'tnecessarily match is and I was
wondering if that's what you'rereferring to, or something
different.

Sifu Rubia (13:18):
It's a little bit of that. And that's not really what
I was saying. But maybe, youknow, in like the deeper layer
of it, I was speaking more froma technical physical point of
view and looking at someone'spractice. But you're right
there, there's a lot ofdisconnect between someone's

(13:40):
actual spiritual practice andsomeone's physical practice. And
you you get to see that once youstart interacting with with
people, yeah, but at the end,I've gone through that with with
my teachers, and at the end ofthe day, everybody, we're all
we're all having a humanexperience. Yes. And it's not

(14:01):
put it's really not taking thetake the lesson, forget the
person, that's how I see it, andI even teach that way. Like,
don't look at me, don't, don'treally pay attention to what I'm
doing through my life. Payattention to what you're doing.
And then the, the work itselfwill transform you. So allow

(14:21):
that to happen and forget abouteverything else. So take the
work and forget the forget theguru that you're trying to, to
connect to or look up with. Andbecause that cultivates
disappointment, and I've I'vegone through that path of
disappointment with my ownteachers and then you have to
really and then you startteaching and then you the lights

(14:44):
being shone like on you. And youhave to you you know compassion
that's where you startcultivating empathy and
compassion and really deepunderstanding for For the human
condition and that we're all inthis soup together,

can you share a little bit of the history of
what you understand in terms ofthe origins of Tai Chi Chi Gong?

Sifu Rubia (15:15):
I'm not sure I understand the question. So the
where

where it originates.

Sifu Rubia (15:22):
So it's all from the Chinese. It's a Chinese art
form, I am really bad athistory. I, my teachers have
that. And so when I need somekind of lineage, you know, back
up into where it comes from, Igo to them, but it's not. That's

(15:43):
not the information I retain,unfortunately. So people don't
come to me for

I'm curious, because in India, there's a
strong like guru disciplerelationship. Kind of
underpinning in the yogatraditions, is there a similar
type of hierarchy and orstructure in the Chinese in this
Chinese system?

Sifu Rubia (16:05):
There is and I'm that Rebel Without a Cause?
Kind. And I've always been likethat, that's just part of my
personality. I don't believe inthat. I don't believe in latch.
It's a codependent relationship,so I am not for it. I don't
support that at all. So yes, itexists within the martial arts

(16:33):
system is a few, you know,through the yogi Yogi system, I
don't believe in it, I don'tsupport it, I think, I think our
rules are to support people andtheir, their process. And again,
coming back to what I saidearlier, meeting people where
they are and just, you know,extending a hand and be in kind

(16:54):
and sharing your knowledge. Sothat's, that's what I'm doing.
I'm just sharing the knowledge,I'm sharing the tools, and
presenting it in a way that thatis very practical. So yeah,
that's, that's how I presentwork. And then I know, the work
deep enough to understand thatit will transform the individual

(17:20):
who's seeking without mypresence. So nice. You take the
tools, here they are, they'reyours do do what you want with
them. And then that's myapproach.

Nice. And you had made mention in relation to
teaching and or observation ofstudents that you can tell that
like, where they're working fromin relation to like, how sound
like you said, like, how, howmuch they can drop into it. And
or, I was kind of thinking like,maybe maybe if that's in
relationship to how they usetheir core, where they're moving

(18:00):
from, whether they're movingfrom like their chest and or if
they're moving from theirabdomen or from their pelvis? Is
that what you were referring to?

Sifu Rubia (18:09):
Yeah, from a physical point of view, yes. So
in Tai Chi, you're working atopening the waist, so every
movement is guided by the waist.
But in order for that to happen,your route has to be very solid.
So it's observing how those twoare coexisting, I guess. And
then the expression of it comesout through the fingertips in

(18:33):
the hands so you can see it, youcan see the energy moving. And
when you've you were there inChina observing or in Thailand
observing 100 people doing it,you could literally see energy
moving, I'm sure. Yeah. And soyou're, you're looking for that,
that expression, because itgets, it gets its energy that

(18:56):
gets moved and expressedoutward. But a lot of a lot of
times, it just it stayscontained. So it's, that's why
you get into Tai Chi sword andweapons so that that energy has
a place to go thereafter.

Nice. I'm super curious, because in yoga, we
might learn specificarrangements of poses and then
after enough years of practice,we might feel inclined to
practice by ourselves at homeand then like, work off of
whatever we feel in the momentlike maybe we'll feel like yeah,

(19:35):
a backbend would be really goodright now and practice it back
then, in Tai Chi, are therespecific forms that you learn
and then when you get good atit, you could make something up
spontaneously and or is it seenas No, you definitely follow
this specific form from likethis movement to that movement?
Is there like a free flow orlike a Vinyasa flow of Tai Chi.

Sifu Rubia (19:59):
I hope Ask your question.

Thanks for Yeah,

Sifu Rubia (20:02):
I love your questions because they come from
a yogic perspective. And you'veobviously been practicing for a
long time. And you've probablybeen teaching for a long time.
So your questions are, are superinteresting, and I appreciate
them. Thank you. So yes and no,I, in the same way that you, I

(20:23):
mean, for us, and as there,there's a reason why you do one,
often after another, becauseyou're opening one thing, and
then you have to not necessarilyclose it out. But balance that
out. Because you can reallystart messing with people's
nervous systems if you don't. Soin that sense, I would say if
you're, if you're yogi, myopinion is stick to stick to the

(20:45):
script, because there's a reasonwhy it's set up that way. And
you don't want to go off thedeep end for because you're
doing it your own way. And I saythat actually very seriously,
because you are you are messingwith not messing, but you are
working with people's nervoussystems, and the spinal cord and
the whole, you know, spinalcolumn. And when you start if

(21:10):
you start moving in the wrongsequences, and you're you're
moving energy in the wrong way,so you have to be very careful.
And you're referring to moreadvanced practices where yes,
okay, this feels good now inthis moment, but did I do this
to make sure that that doesn'thappen? You follow what I do.
For for Tai Chi and Chi Gong, Imean, they're, they're called

(21:35):
systems for a reason. Becausethey, the movements build upon
each other in certain certainways. So you, you want to, you
want to stick to again, I'd liketo stick to the script. But what
will happen with Tai Chi andwith Chi Gong, and what I've

(21:55):
noticed in my own practice, isthat you you end up moving
through the world in a wholedifferent way. So your body
becomes more fluid, you becomemore water, like and so
spontaneity, I would say, like,I'll find myself moving, you
know, moving the ball or doinglike grasping sparrows tail, or

(22:18):
ward off and roll back, like inthe middle of an airport, just
because I feel like I need torelease something. But, and
that's, there's nothing wrongwith doing that. Based on this,
how it's structured, I guess itis a little bit different now
that I'm kind of answering yourquestion in real time, and

(22:38):
you're making me think about it.
I would say there's maybe alittle less hazard with with
tight doing that in Tai Chi thanwith with an asana practice. But
you do end up walking throughthe world differently. There's a
flow to your body that yeah,that just exists within you that

(23:00):
I never found in my yogapractice. So I only my yoga
practice changed when I had aTai Chi practice. Nice. That
the, the the internal circularmovement of Qigong and Tai Chi,
that energy once you bring thatto your yoga practice, it

(23:22):
changes that completely. Youjust you start moving through
your vinyasas in a wholedifferent.

Wow. That's cool. That makes sense. I'm
curious when you say circularenergy, are you visualizing like
going from the top of the headdown the front of the body up
the back of the body and makinglike a circle that way? Are you
doing spirals? Like up and down?
When you say circular? Can youhelp me understand what or what

(23:50):
that looks like? Or?

Sifu Rubia (23:54):
No, that that meditation that you're referring
to, we call in? Not my world,but in this world, we call it
connecting the cosmic orbit. Soyou're pulling up at the
perineum. And then you're,you're putting the top of the
tip of your tongue to the roofof your mouth, and you're

(24:15):
circulating back up from theback and then down the front. So
you're creating that that cosmicorbit and then you you can go
into the different pathways andhow one goes up, one goes down
as they're both going up anddown. Anyways, that's a little
too technical for thisconversation. But yeah, so
that's one circular motion thatyou you create through through

(24:39):
meditation. And then, I mean,some Tai Chi drills or you know
what I mean by drills, right?
So, specific movements that youdo over and over again help you
develop something else. So thereare certain practices with a Tai
Chi ball, for example, thatcultivate that circular circular

(25:02):
movement in your body, in your,in your joints in your,
especially the shoulder jointsin the hip joints. But those are
more advanced practices, I wouldsay. But it's having gone
through those types of exercisesor drills that develop that
circular secure energy. Butthose are really advanced

(25:25):
practices within within Tai Chi.
Got it?

You were kind enough to give me access to your
course, which is Tai ChiFundamentals course on your
website, Tai Chi wellness dotonline. And you I saw that you
filmed one of the shots is fromon top of a hill overlooking the
ocean in Southern California.
Like on a magical day, like oneof those classic southern

(25:52):
California days where it's justso perfect. And beautiful. And
where did you film that? I was Icouldn't I couldn't figure it
out. Well, lucky.

Sifu Rubia (26:05):
My absence I found that place. Well, nothing's
really my house sense.
Everything's kind of in sync.
That is in the PacificPalisades, and it's up on the
it's up on the cliff. That'soverlooking Santa Monica beach,
I think

Nice. Nice. I know that area. Well. That's a
beautiful spot. Have you livedout here. Um, I did. You know,
my grandparents had a home inPacific Palisades. So every
summer I would, I would travelthere and spend not every summer
but a lot of summers and spendtime with them. And then both my
wife is from Newport Beach area.
And we used to live in San Diegotogether for a few years. And

(26:45):
then I've also lived up inNorthern California up in
Garberville, up in northern nearMendocino, or Mendocino County.
So I love California. It's sobeautiful out there. So yeah,
when I saw that visual, theocean and you were, you know,
just what a great backdrop. Itlooks so nice. Did a great job.
Yeah,

Sifu Rubia (27:05):
reason why I did it that way. Because he saw the
videos like the meridian videos,I was looking for space. Like,
why like, empty space next tome. So I could place those
videos in the editing after.
That's why I chose well, one ofthe reasons why I chose it. But

Can Can you share with me what your
experience has been like in thejuxtaposition and or similarity
of teaching in person, like youmentioned, you got a chance to
teach a private lesson, which issuch a great opportunity to be
able to work one on one in aroom with somebody and then
teaching via the digitalplatform. Are you finding that

(27:46):
you're having just as muchsuccess maybe even more with
people understanding yourtechniques? Do you find that
something gets traded in thedigital element? Or what what
are you finding?

Sifu Rubia (27:58):
So well, when you I teach intuitively so you when
you're with someone you can youcan see everything that's going
on and making littleadjustments, small group classes
or individual one on one? Thethe thought that I had when I
started producing these onlinecourses, is that okay? You take

(28:20):
10 years of teaching, and how doyou distill it into this person
who's watching it? They'recoming into your class for the
first time. So what do you do inyour in your class for first
timers? So you you break thingsdown? Right. So that's how I
that's how I approached it. AndI was, as I was sharing earlier,

(28:40):
I'm just here to give you theinformation. So this is how the
information when you do it inthis particular way, this this
is how it can evolve for you.
And you can do that over andover again for the rest of your
life. And still find somethingnew, every single time. Yeah. So

(29:02):
the thought process digitallywas really distilling it into
think back to your first class.
Think back to what people cut,like the knowledge, which is
mostly none because they're hereto learn, right? So how do you

(29:25):
present it for the first time ina way that's accessible? And
then that's all you can do?
accessible and safe. That's theother way. So that's all you can
do. And it's only because Itaught for 10 years prior to
producing this I would never dothat as a first or even a five
year teacher like it wouldn'thave made sense. It wouldn't

(29:47):
have come out that way. So it'sdifferent I mean, you have to
digitally you have to be just beBe aware and not give not give
too much information becauseI'm, I'm from the mindset less
is more always. And smallpieces, you know people digest

(30:10):
things. It takes time. Yeah, Ihave students that, you know,
six, seven years after theyremember something I said in the
first or first week that theycame to class and they're like,
you know, when you said that,now it makes sense. So people
digest things that at the pacethat they do, and

yeah, this is one of the things I hear from
people that have switched overto the digital teaching format
that they say is one of thegreat benefits of it is that
because it can be replayed overand over again that, you know,
you can watch that program andlearn and study in the New Year
Later revisit it, and almosthave a completely different
experience. Oh, absolutely.
That's cool. Yeah, that'samazing. Can you share a little

(30:56):
bit about how when you encounterstress and or a difficult
situation in life, how Tai Chihelps you to move through that
in a more graceful way?

Sifu Rubia (31:15):
Hmm, that's a great question. So when you're, when
you're participating, or you're,you're engaging in yoga, tai
chi, art, any kind of expressionthat works for you, your that's
your therapy, whether you yourealize it or not, you're in a

(31:36):
therapeutic space. So for for,for me, it's been a handful of
things. So Tai Chi, for me hasbecome this, this place that I
can drop into. Now I can dropinto it quickly because it's

(31:57):
integrated in my body. Because Igave it the time and space to do
that. It helps me it just helpsme come back to my center, come
back to my body. Yeah, itteaches you how to teach Tai Chi

(32:18):
yoga teaches you how to bepresent. So I think when you're
going through a stressful timeor situation or anything that
life kind of the chaos, normalchaos of life, if you have tools
or something that grounds you,then, you know, seek that out.
Whatever it is. That's been thegift for me. Again, I found it

(32:42):
more all of that I found more inmy Tai Chi practice than met and
then my yoga practice, which is,and I practice, and now I
practice more tight, more yoga.

So you still work with both. It's not like
you just said, Okay, yoga, I'llput my mat up in the attic. And
I'm never doing that again. Andlet me just only do Tai Chi,
you've been able to integratethem together. Mm hmm.

Sifu Rubia (33:09):
Yeah. What a gift that's been. It's really? Yeah,
that's cool, great opportunitythat I was given to be able to
integrate both practices. AndI'm a very specifically don't
teach yoga because that's mypractice. Nice. So that belongs

(33:30):
to me and Tai Chi belongs toeverybody else that everybody
else can have that and it poursout of me in that way. But yoga
is really not for me.

When Well, you're a Tai Chi instructor? Do
you go and take other Tai Chiinstructors classes in your
local neighborhood? Are thereare there any other Tai Chi
instructors in your local, localneighborhood because I have
people who come into yoga,they're like, I really want Tai
Chi. I want Tai Chi, we want tofind Tai Chi class. And so I I'm

(34:02):
always looking on Google. And Ido know someone now, locally who
does teach but for the longesttime, it was something I could
never find, or that I couldrefer people to. I'm curious how
now California is a whole nothergame and sense of like, you
can't throw a rock and not hitprobably a Tai Chi studio

(34:22):
somewhere in SouthernCalifornia. But no, not no, no.

Sifu Rubia (34:27):
Not obvious. Yeah.
Well, the other thing, it'sthere and I teach. I've learned
family systems. So familysystems are handed down like
literally generation togeneration. So it's, it's not I
know, there's a little I don'tknow, maybe Tai Chi isn't there

(34:50):
yet, but there's something alittle more sacred to it. That's
that's I don't know maybe hasn'tbeen In commercial yoga has been
or maybe that's where it's goingto I don't know.

But like special Tai Chi leggings or
something? Like there'll be abrand new fitness store that'll
sell.

Sifu Rubia (35:16):
I have to say, I can't see it. Yeah, I can't say
that I happen to point. But Ican't see it.

What does that turn into? Or does that look
like in terms of like localstudents seeking you out? Is it
something that you're needing toalways educate people about tai
chi to try to generate interest?
Or is it that people arespecifically finding you knowing
that they want Tai Chi?

Sifu Rubia (35:44):
Well, when I took a break from teaching for the I
haven't taught group I teachprivately, because I have
students who have been with mefor a long time. And so if
they're putting in the work thatI show up to help them right, so
that's that's kind of where Icome from. But I've taken a
break for the past four years,I've been taught like a class

(36:07):
class only because like, Ineeded to work on myself. And
there's, there's some stuff thatI wanted to evolve in my own
practice, and you need to stepback, you need to step back from
teaching, you need to like, growa little bit and gain some some
wisdom and dive into your ownpractice. And sometimes you can

(36:28):
only do that when you don't haveother energies pulling at you
for for the information. Yeah.
So that's where I've been in thepast few years. Got it, besides
the digital stuff, but I haven'treally been teaching new
classes, but that's going tochange. So I'm ready to get back
into the circuit again, andstart teaching I usually teach
it like the, for the city, likethe parks and recs, or YMCA,

(36:52):
stuff like that. So it's hard,it's harder to find what would
you Tai Chi teachers are a lotharder to find, because it takes
a long time to evolve in actualpractice. Is just set up
differently.

I don't know, have you in your studies is so
like, I know, in the yoga world,there's, you know, there's
iyengar yoga and Ashtanga Yoga.
And then there was on you,sorry, yoga, there's all these
different styles. Obviously,there's different you had made
mentioned earlier, there'sdifferent styles of Tai Chi,
when you got into Tai Chi, didyou like fall into a specific
style that you were with for aperiod of time before something

(37:35):
else caught your attention? Orhow many different styles of Tai
Chi Have you been exposed to?

Sifu Rubia (37:46):
So there's classical the most perform practiced.
Style is a young family style.
So there's a couple of branchesin the young family style, but
you can always tell what a youngstyle is. And that's the most
practice worldwide. And that'swhere I started. And that's kind

(38:10):
of what that's the lane that I'mstill in. That's the one I stay
in. There's just so much work todo. And in one style that Yeah,
that's fine with me. And thenthere's Chen Style, which is a
very different energy, it's alittle How do I explain that
it's just a different, differentenergy. And you can always tell

(38:32):
the difference between the Chenstyle and the yang style. So
those are the two that I've I'vecome across, there are a couple
of more styles out there. Again,not the historian here. I'm more
of a medic meditation and youknow, making the mind body

(38:52):
connection and spiritual pathkind of thing. So, yeah, I'm
fine with with my own style.
I've done you know, some Kung Fuand different kung fu styles,
different Qigong styles. I'veexplored a lot. You know, I've

(39:14):
studied under certain teachersand I have left them I've gotten
studied under other teachers andleft them and so I'm the rebels
so I won't stick to one teacherand I've had teachers who
really, they didn't like that. Idid that. But again, I'm not
into the codependent being.

I understand

Sifu Rubia (39:34):
why are we doing that? Yeah.

There's the same exact thing in the yoga
world was so I'm sure you'vecome across that as well. Yeah.

Sifu Rubia (39:44):
I mean, I again, not to say that it's wrong. I just
don't believe it or not. I'm nota subscriber to it. So I believe
in in personal choice, I believein personal sovereignty and
export. ation and discovery,curiosity. Everybody has

(40:06):
something to share. And so seekout, seek out what that person
has to share with you and keepit moving. Or or not. Or stay
there I you know, it's thatthere's no judgment on it. I'm
just sharing my experience.

I understand. I appreciate that. Um, is there
like a, you know, for me, when Isaw the large group of people
all practicing in Thailandreally made me helps me to
understand how, how real Tai Chiis that there? There are serious
enthusiast and then to see awhole bunch of them together at

(40:42):
the same time, had more impacton me. I'm curious is there if
you could take a dream trip? Isthere like a place that's like
the Tai Chi Mecca where you go,and there's like, hundreds of
people all practicing tai chi,together? Like, is there a Is
there a place or a group? Thatthat that's known for in the Tai

(41:03):
Chi world?

Sifu Rubia (41:06):
That's a great question. I just, yeah. I mean,

it's like, I think in yoga,

Sifu Rubia (41:12):
I just can't answer it. I mean, I have no desire to
go to China on I have no desirefor it. But I will speak of the
group energy though, that havingexperienced both like a solitude
like practice that's moresolitary and a group practice,

(41:34):
there's definitely a differencein both and the the gift of the
group practice is you're tappinginto everybody's energy around
you. And it's, you get harriedif you get, like swept up in it.
And it's a really beautifulexperience. So and if I see a

(41:56):
group of people doing tai chi,very, very rare, but when I
have, I've always like, divedin, because it's, it's a
beautiful experience to be inthat ebb and flow with other
people. Energetically, it's it'sreally, that's where people
congregate to do it. Yeah, yeah.
There's a sensation that'spalpable that that feeds feeds

(42:18):
you. Yeah.

Is there a text that people go to when they are
interested in learning about taichi? Like saying Yoga people
will seek out either BhagavadGita or maybe Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali? Is there an iconictext out of China or or even

(42:44):
modern that people gravitatetoward or that's really popular?

Sifu Rubia (42:49):
Yeah, that question I can. Okay. I feel like, yeah,
my knowledge of Tai Chi needssome refinement. I guess.

I'm not being too nitpicky. Here. I just love

Sifu Rubia (43:04):
everything. I really, really doubt a chain
that follows a Taoist philosophyin that sense. That would be
the, the book that gets you intoat least the mindset of being in
flow with nature and being justbeing able to let go, I mean,

(43:27):
Tai Chi is all about letting goand surrendering and not
surrendering, but yielding. Sothe Tao de Ching, there are a
lot of great Tai Chi books outthere. I can leave a list with
you that you can put in yourshow notes. All right. And there
are a lot of them are one ofthem is technical, like tai chi

(43:48):
for the classics, I think it'scalled. Let me see if I can find
it. And see it. I'll give you alist. So that one's a good one
to start understanding some somepractical aspects to Tai Chi
practice. If you're more like ifyou're more brain centered or

(44:08):
literal, like you function moreif you if you read. There's a
Harvard book. Harvard wrote abook on Tai Chi. So that's a
really good technical book aswell. I'm a practitioner. So
although I love reading, I needto practice I need to like get
into my body and some people whowrite all these Tai Chi books

(44:31):
actually don't have a Tai Chipractice. Just follow the people
who are doing the arms. Rightand that's fine. And there's
value you know, there's there'sdefinitely value there but it's
a practice. It's a physicalpractice. So you have to you

(44:53):
have to do to really get intoit. And then there are other
books that I'll share with youthat have a have personal
stories on some of the teacherfrom the lineage that I'm from
that are very interesting booksas well.

Nice. I know we're working in audio realm
right now, if I'm a brand newstudent, and I come to and I get
to work one on one and or take aprivate, where do you start with
me? Like, what, what's thebeginning? What's the starting
point,

Sifu Rubia (45:24):
the starting point is to feel your feet. Take your
shoes off, and feel every partof your your foot, both foot
middle and foot, heel. Feelingarticulating the the toes and
rooting those into the groundwithout gripping to the ground,

(45:44):
but really feeling a depth to,to the floor or the feet of the
earth beneath your feet. So youstart in a Gucci witchy stance,
so just you know, feet hip widthapart, it's like bend in the
knee. Tailbone is gently drops,and not tucked. So nice, long,

(46:08):
soft spine, and arms or, youknow, just gently by your side,
palms towards the Earth. Feelingto pull from the crown, crown of
your head towards the heavens.
And just standing in that energyfor a little for a little,
little bit. That itself is very,very challenging.

You have such a nice voice, though, it makes me
feel relaxed, just to hear youkind of explain that. So

Sifu Rubia (46:40):
for podcast purposes,

is there because there is like an
energetic component. And I'msure you've come across some
people that might right awayreally gravitate toward grasping
these concepts? And then maybeyou come across situations where
maybe it's very difficult forpeople to get grounded and start

(47:06):
to feel your feet. What what doyou have any tricks and or tips
for those of us that are justhaving a hard time like feeling,
feeling that like gettinggetting relaxed enough in our
minds that we can actually startto relax? Or is the practice
take care of the word, use theword relax,

Sifu Rubia (47:30):
I use the word soften, release, draw. I never
used the word relax verymindfully to because sometimes,
a lot of times, oftentimes thatword ignites tension. So either

(47:51):
through you know, past traumasor other things that people are
navigating, that's why I'venever brought that word to, to
class. So it's really bringingpeople in their bodies is I do
visual in class I do, I didn'tdo this so much in the online

(48:12):
course. And now that I'mthinking about it, maybe I
should redo it, but I oftenvisualized, help them visualize
literally from the root up. Socreating like a lot of
meditators like to use whitelight, so you know, a ball of
light that kind of gentlytravels and circulates up

(48:34):
through through the joints andall of that stuff. So it's, it's
getting into feeling your bodyand being aware of your body.
There's so many great tools outthere for meditation. And the
key to meditation is tounderstand that you're not the
goal is not to have your mindempty. It's not the goal. The

(48:55):
goal is to be aware that youhave thoughts and you're not
trying to get rid of yourthoughts is to be aware that
they're there. And how do youeither redirect them or let them
go. So becoming in a state ofconstantly being able to let go
and to release and all that's,that's developing a meditative

(49:16):
life style, as opposed tomeditative practice, right? So
then it's time you have to giveyourself the time to do it. You
know, these these things don'tdevelop overnight, you have to
give yourself the gift ofhealing the gift of relief and

(49:38):
all of these things.

Nice if I were to say memorize and or if I used
your routine that you teach theroutines that you do teach in
your course. And do yourecommend that right when I wake
up? Is it like a yoga thingwhere early early early in the
morning or is it something thatyou're consciously scheduled

(50:02):
time in your day to do practice,or do you find that you
recommend people for theevening? Is there any sort of
protocol there and or ideal TaiChi time?

Sifu Rubia (50:15):
No, I would say just do it. That's changed for me
over time. Like, I used to loveearly morning practices. And now
I find myself training in themiddle of the day, just because
my life is just changed. So justbe fluid with your practice.
Don't give up your practice, butbe fluid with it. Some people

(50:37):
work better if they're, they'remore diligent and consistent and
Same time, same place and thisand that. That's what it takes
do it i There's no, I don'tknow, there's no rule in my
book. Again, I'm not a follower.
I just like to be balanced. Youknow, my goal is if there is a

(50:58):
goal is to always be inequanimity. And to, to work
towards that. And whatever thework requires that to be to end
there, then that's what I'mgoing to do. Most people
practice in the morning, justbecause the vibration is

(51:19):
different in the morning, so yousee a lot of Tai Chi
practitioners practice at like,four o'clock in the morning,
five o'clock in the morning,just because the vibration of
the Earth is different. Sothey're trying to connect to a
different vibration at thatpoint in time. What are you
waiting for?

What are your thoughts about indoors versus
being outdoors in nature,

Sifu Rubia (51:45):
Oh, definitely outdoors any, any way you can be
outdoors, because that's thepractice the practice is coming
back to the Delta changes isbeing connected to nature and
its natural flow. So when youcan connect with the vibration
of the trees of the earth it's awhole other experience. But if

(52:11):
if you only have a closet towork in, then do that and
picture yourself and by theocean or in a park or whatever
the ideal is always to be in apark, though.

You made mention that like say you're in
the airport, and you just haveto like release something that
you'll be you'll that you'll youknow, bust out. I like the terms
that you use. I don't I'm notfamiliar with the I love how in
Tai Chi, what was some of thenames of the routines again? Can
you say some of what they'recalled? Oh,

Sifu Rubia (52:42):
grasping sparrows tail, grasping

sparrows tail, I love that.

Sifu Rubia (52:47):
Yeah, it's a beautiful movement to the
difficult movement. It's notdifficult technically, it's,
it's difficult in the sense thatyou you, when you start it, you
started by holding a ball. Soyou think about, you're holding
this ball, whatever it is thatyou love or care about is in

(53:08):
this ball, and then all of asudden, you have to let it go.
So the movement is literallyplacing your hand gently over
this ball, and with the otherhand, allowing it to release and
let go. So it's a difficult onein that sense. We hold on to

(53:30):
stuff we're hoarders by nature,it's part of human nature is to
hoard. So to have a movementthat that is fundamentally about
letting go with it can be alittle challenging. So that's
grasping sparrows tail, and thenthere's,

do you think the name grasping sparrows tail,
but sounds like you're lettingthe sparrows tail? You're
letting? So is it almost likeyou're grasping and letting go?
Is there are there? Are they doyou find that the names of the
Tai Chi movements are stories inand of themselves?

Sifu Rubia (54:02):
Yes. Absolutely.
They are. Yeah. So graspingsparrows tail, yeah. So it's,
uh, you're you're literallyholding on and letting go
because the sparrow doesn't wantto be held down right. It's a
bird. I don't know one bird whowants to stay. So yeah, it's
it's, it's finding that thatbalance point of holding on and

(54:26):
letting go. And then there'swarding off and rollback and
those are also beautifulmovements.

warding off like warding off a spirit like
warding off is that is ourchair.

Sifu Rubia (54:44):
Yes, so warding off like pushing, you're pushing
away, warding off and thenrolling back. So you're, you're
gathering again. So you're,you're pushing away gathering
again and when you look at TaiChi one thing I'm sure you'll
know you've known It just is.
It's, it looks like a wave. Sothey're flowing in high tide
flowing back low tidesconstantly. So you're in this

(55:08):
ebb and flow constantly andthat's Listen, that's the chaos
of life. Oh, it's ebbing andfollowing.

So the idea of the movement is really to mimic
nature and or low with nature'sas is. Yeah. Yeah. Nice.

Sifu Rubia (55:28):
The Styles themselves were actually, this
is a little bit of history and Iwon't I will only say or what I
know for sure other than that, Ican't elaborate anymore. But the
the styles, the Tai Chi styleswere designed on someone
observing a a crane and a snakegetting into a fight. And the

(55:55):
interaction between these twoanimals Yeah, it's, it's all
about, yeah. Which naturalcycles

which I would imagine would make us a little
bit more observant of nature ingeneral. You know, like to be
able to go to the beach and seemaybe like, sandpiper fishing
for crab in the sea. But, youknow, like to start watching
nature and think how would I tryto translate that wakes

Sifu Rubia (56:28):
you up and into?
Yeah, everything in my life, Irelate to Tai Chi now that I see
through the lens of he canrelate it back to either my
practice or just even thepractice separate from my
practice. Yeah, you, you it,that's what I was sharing

(56:48):
earlier. If they I just you movethrough the world in a whole
different way. When you reallyintegrate this, this type of
practice.

That's cool.
It's funny, because when youmade mention that, since you had
a yoga practice, and then whenyou got into Tai Chi, it made
you a little bit more fluid inyour, in your life, and I almost
imagined you like takinggroceries out of the back of the
car and like making some sort oflike really, really like smooth
movement of like, swinging thegrocery bag up onto the

(57:19):
countertop. I know that's silly.
But I mean, it seems like youcould almost turn every movement
into some type of Tai Chi.

Sifu Rubia (57:31):
Yeah. Oh, yeah. When I first started I was so into
it. Like I loved how it felt byafter the third class of course,
not the first time. I did mythird time. But when I when I
got into like the teachertraining part of it when I got
into like my, my schooling ofit. I was really, I was really

(57:53):
into it. And I would, I would Iwould move in a different way
just because I wanted to feel Ijust wanted to feel that all the
time. So in my husband at thetime, I'm I'm divorced now but
my husband at the time, he wouldlook at me like what are you
doing? Okay, because yeah, youmove differently, you move more

(58:16):
mindfully, softly.

It sounds like it would make life a little bit
more fun. Because you could justbe more creative.

Sifu Rubia (58:26):
It it's grounded me more for sure. So if there's
something going on around methat's chaotic. I can I can
stand in my center. And that Ilink back to my my Tai Chi
practice for sure.

What do you notice with like, when we get a
hurry? We will I mean, I'm inFlorida, you're in California,
different weather patterns. Butwe went hurricanes come here.
It's crazy to watch. It's reallyinteresting to watch how how
stirred up everybody gets likeliterally the wind starts
blowing and people are drivingaround really crazy and honkin
and rushing to Home Depot andtrying to get all their supplies

(59:04):
and you know being really meanin lines and that kind of thing.
And pushy not always, not alwayslike I think our community is
amazing. And I see people cometogether to sow. There's
incredible things about that.
But I love the wind, like whenthe wind really starts to rip
around here. I just love it. ButI see that some people get
really agitated. Do you thinkTai Chi could help us to like

(59:24):
stay grounded even though theweather feels to us? I know.
Earthquakes there.

Sifu Rubia (59:36):
There's a movement called cloud hands. cloud hands.
Yeah, cloud hands and you're thethe you're trying to move
through clouds but you're movingthe clouds. So try moving cloud.

Now it's cloud hands like a Tai Chi movement
are you mean this is a group ofpeople that just decided to be
cloud?

Sifu Rubia (59:57):
It's an actual practice called Cloud and

Todd McLaughlin (01:00:00):
you watch the clouds and almost imagine you're
moving them and try to move yourhands in a way that the clouds
are moving.

Sifu Rubia (01:00:08):
Imagine the amount.
Imagine the touch of your handagainst the cloud without
breaking the clouds. So youdon't want to break the cloud,
you want to move it. Wow.
That's, that's the feeling thatyou want. So it's a feeling that
that both envelops you. Andgrounds you at the same time

(01:00:34):
that that move is

above that visual. Or just that. Yeah. How
to

get into that one.
It's a little more in Yeah,because you were you brought up
when so I thought it had handsright away. So in that movement,
you are you're you're moving thewaist is being you know, the
waist is guiding movement, andthen your arms are floating as
if you are moving the clouds.

(01:01:06):
And that's, that's a movementthat if you were in the middle
of chaos, that would ground youfor sure. Nice. Yeah. Nice. I've
never experienced tornado, Iwouldn't know. But that's where
I would go.

I'm definitely gonna start experimenting with
cloud hands. Yeah. It makes methink that I see what you mean,
how have you relate some of thisto yoga? It could change the
yoga experience to from say, ifI'm really rigid, and my, I've
got to perform this posture, andI have to get everything lined
up this way. And then I'll lookperfect. And or maybe that's

(01:01:46):
even possible to look perfect,or in all that and to make a
little bit more of like Cloudbody. Like a cloud. Yeah.

So I mean, listen, there's a certain there's not a
certain there's a definitesacred geometry to an asana
practice and a well structured,asana practice for sure. And the
tai chi, what it does, it goes,it goes deeper inside that
structure that that to me hasbeen the difference. Is that it?

(01:02:20):
It's like you're in the belly ofthe fire, as opposed to the
flames? If that makes sense,

it does. Yeah.
That's a good one. Oh, man,well, Ruby, I really am excited.
Now. Now that I've gotten achance to have a conversation
with you as well, I want to goback and watch and start
practicing from your course, youdid mention that for listeners,
there's a course called shortQigong course and that there's a

(01:02:47):
promo code that's free Qi butit's fr e qi. And that gives
like a full discount. So anybodylistening and or watching can
can check you out and see whatyour teaching style is like and,
and maybe start practicing someTai Chi, wouldn't the world be

(01:03:07):
in a beautiful place, ifeverybody was doing some Tai
Chi,

it definitely would change the dynamic to the world,
you have to you know, you haveto realize that I'm just working
stuff out to you know, like,everybody's working out their
stuff. So when you're on these,these these types of journeys
that connect you to your body toa certain awareness or anything

(01:03:37):
that brings you back into thepresent, you're, you're you're
trying to I've been trying todeal with, you know, the other
stuff, you know, we all havedemons that we're trying to,
like, work out. And that's, thishas been my therapy. It's been
my, my therapy and my past mypath to self realization all it
all at once. So I've been luckyenough to to have that. But any

(01:04:02):
type of art form where you feelsettled in at peace, and that's
your that's your place?

Yes, yes. On that note, Rubia Do you have any
closing thoughts? And or?

Um, that that was that was kind of it. Like,

I think that was pretty good. I was hesitant
to actually ask you that lastquestion, because it felt like,

we're here to seek that. And I think Oprah said
that before, like, our full timejob is really to discover what
we're here to be doing. And thatI don't think enough people are
doing whatever our artisticendeavor it makes them happy or
makes them or soothe them. Ithink if people did that, like

(01:04:54):
Tai Chi aside, I think if peoplejust found that little space
within them to do To feelhealed, whole cared for
nurtured, you know, forthemselves, I think would be
would be a better place. So, ifI'm advocating anything,
anything I'm advocating, youknow, find your find your art of
whatever that is.

Well, thank you, Ruby, I really appreciative
of you taking time out of yourday for us, I really appreciate
it.

This has been the best podcast recording ever.
Honestly, your questions werebrilliant, and they came from
from a really curious place. Ilove people who are curious. So
thank you, Rubia. No, thank you.
This was really great. Well, I'm

excited. I'm excited to publish it and get it
out there. And I'm definitelygonna use your course. And I
want to I want to practice withyou. So thank you so much for
for offering that to me. Thankyou.

You're welcome.
Enjoy. And then. Yeah, thecourse itself. I don't know how
far along you went in, if youjust did the beginning, but

just the beginning really honest,

I didn't get sectioned in really small,
digestible pieces. So they kindof all, they all build upon each
other. So you're really, yeah,it's, it's well done. I'm not
saying that to you for any otherreason that it's easy, and it's
accessible. And it's the righttools are there for people, and

(01:06:29):
you have a good foundation tobuild upon something else. So if
you go, that's another thing isthat, coming back to what we
were saying about digital versusin person, the tools that are
there and that chorus arepreparing you for when you do
find a class out in the world.
Separate from again, separatefrom me. So those tools and
those fundamentals on how to youknow, balance your weight, when

(01:06:54):
you're doing the Tai Chiwalking, how to move your waist,
how to allow the arms to followthe waist, where your gave is
all of those little fundamentalpieces prepare you for when you
want to walk into to an actualclass when you have the
opportunity to so

that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. Well, if you
ever ever in Florida, let meknow. I absolutely will. All
right. Which part of Florida ina town called Juno Beach, which
is about 20 minutes north ofWest Palm Beach, which is about
an hour and 15 north of Miami.

Okay, yeah. I went to your website and you you do a
lot of classes and outdoorclasses. And

we do yeah, my wife and I, we've had our studio
here for the last 16 years. Andwe used to teach at a studio in
San Diego together. So we'vebeen teaching together for a
little over 20 now and we do dooutdoor stuff. I teach
paddleboard yoga, so I getpeople out on paddle boards, and
we do some yoga there and wehave beach yoga, and then we

(01:08:00):
have a studio where, you know,we're we're teaching indoors all
day too. But you know, I lovethe area around here in terms of
the natural environment. So itwas trying to get people
outdoors and you know, doinghealthy healthy activities in
you know, community outdoors. Soyeah, we do have a lot of fun.

So yeah, if I'm ever out there, for sure, I'll come
in, take one of your classes forsure.

That'd be amazing. Maybe you could teach
us a Tai Chi class that would beincredible. To that to where you
can absolutely do that too.
Thank you for Thank you,

Todd. It was a it was a beautiful session.

I really appreciate it. I'll be in touch
with you. Alright, thanks.
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Sifu Rubia ~ Prana & Qi - Two Paths to One Destination

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Sifu Rubia ~ Prana & Qi - Two Paths to One Destination